consumptive
[ kuhn-suhmp-tiv ]
adjective
tending to consume; destructive; wasteful.
relating to consumption by use.
Pathology.
relating to or of the nature of consumption.
disposed to or affected with consumption.
noun
Older Use. a person with tuberculosis.
Origin of consumptive
1First recorded in 1375–1425; Middle English adjective and noun consumptif “eliminating or reducing morbid humors or tissue; an agent that eliminates or reduces morbid humors or tissue,” from Medieval Latin consūmptīvum, noun use of adjective consūmptīvus “wasteful, destructive; suffering from pulmonary consumption”; see origin at consumption, -ive
Other words from consumptive
- con·sump·tive·ly, adverb
- con·sump·tive·ness, noun
- non·con·sump·tive, adjective
- non·con·sump·tive·ly, adverb
- non·con·sump·tive·ness, noun
- un·con·sump·tive, adjective
- un·con·sump·tive·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for consumptive
consumptive
/ (kənˈsʌmptɪv) /
adjective
causing consumption; wasteful; destructive
pathol relating to or affected with consumption, esp tuberculosis of the lungs
noun
pathol a person who suffers from consumption
Derived forms of consumptive
- consumptively, adverb
- consumptiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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